All charges against former US President Donald Trump relate to accounting offences linked to what the prosecutor believes was a cover-up plan that Trump conspired together with, among others, his then lawyer Michael Cohen.
According to prosecutors, Trump has ordered payments to people who threatened to release sensitive information about him in connection with the 2016 presidential campaign.
It concerns the famous case of actress Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, who received $130,000 for keeping quiet about a casual sexual relationship between her and Donald Trump at a golf tournament in 2006.
Paid through agent
It also paid $150,000 to model Karen McDougal, who also claimed to have an affair with Trump in 2006. She filed a lawsuit seeking to be released from an agreement that prevented her from openly talking about an affair with Trump.
The third case involves a gatekeeper who threatened to release information that Trump had an illegitimate child. He reportedly received $30,000.
Signed checks
Trump then allegedly wrote out checks to Cohen on a monthly basis, some of which were issued from the president's own bank account. It is these eleven cheques that make up a large part of the prosecution, as they were recorded "fraudulently".
Trump claims that the transfers to Cohen were for legal services, which is not true, according to District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who cites the evidence found at Trump's residence last year.
The prosecutor believes that Trump has carried out a cover-up plan, a so-called "catch and kill scheme". But that Trump's actions, according to Bragg, violate New York's election campaign law.